5 Reasons You're Not Sleeping Well

How did you sleep last night? If you slept well, congrats, that's great news! But if you find that your nights are long and full of tossing and turning, there could be more than one contributing factor. What are some reasons that you might not be sleeping very well?

Did you know that being overweight can affect your quality of sleep? Studies show that people who are obese or overweight are more likely to be at risk for several sleeping disorders.

• Daytime Fatigue: Being sleepy during the day, having yawns and feeling like you need a nap.
• Sleep Apnea: Your airways become blocked during sleep, which impairs your breathing and does not give you a restful night's sleep.

• Insomnia or Interrupted Sleep: Either you can't fall asleep or you don't stay asleep for very long. This can be especially frustrating if you have to wake up early the next day.

Regular diet and exercise are the best ways to get your weight under control, but certain supplements might also help. Pre and probiotics such as lipase can help to ease your digestion and help your stomach to rebalance itself.

Mattresses are not supposed to last a lifetime, so if yours is starting to show signs of age, you're probably not sleeping very well on it. There are some of the most obvious signs that a mattress is wearing out.

• It is starting to sag in the middle or is lumpy and uneven.
• Springs are beginning to stick out at odd angles.
• It is more than ten to fifteen years old.

The rule of thumb is you replace a mattress like clockwork every ten years, but since today's mattresses are made with different materials than springs alone, this is not necessarily the case. Replace your mattress when you start to notice that it's not comfortable and is hindering your sleep.

You might be having trouble breathing at night and not realize it. If you wake up with itchy eyes or a sore throat and sniffles, you may be suffering from an allergy to something.

• Strip your bed down to the mattress cover and give everything a good wash in your washing machine. Use hottest water your linens can take, bleach the whites to ensure all dust mites are dead.
• Your mattress cover may be machine-washable so check the label before tossing it in washing machine. If it's dry clean only, drop it off at local dry cleaners.

• Freshen your mattress while bare. Sift baking soda over it in an even layer, letting it sit anywhere from an hour on up. Vacuum it up to eliminate any odors and absorb excess moisture. If you want to, use a few drops of your favorite essential oil to help it smell nice.

If you don't have a history of allergies and the allergy is new, check with your doctor to discuss the symptoms. Your doctor will know more about what could be happening and can treat them.

Everyone gets anxious, it's a part of life. Sometimes, though, our anxieties get so big that it starts to affect the way we live — including our sleep. Although there's no foolproof way to handle stress, there are some popular and healthy ways.

• Yoga Before Bedtime - Yoga has been around for thousands of years and is a mix of meditation, stretching and cardio workout. Yoga calms anxious mind and releases endorphins (feel-good chemicals) in the body, helping you to calm down and get good rest.

Coloring - Like reading, coloring is a calming task that makes your mind elsewhere and lets you release your worries creatively. There are coloring pages for everyone; they range from designs of nature and mandala patterns to pop culture icons and musicians.

• If you live in a legal state, try using some recreational cannabis to help you sleep. Marijuana has a bad rep, but all in all it's a safe, non-habit-forming herb that can be smoked, steeped in tea or consumed in an edible form.

If you find that you're chronically anxious and are unable to deal with it healthily, please make an appointment with your physician. It could be that you need a little extra help to get yourself feeling better than just a few calm-down techniques.

Not everyone is an early bird; some are night owls. Though there's nothing wrong with staying up late, understand that human body has its own internal clock. That clock learns your schedule, your normal bedtime and wakeup patterns not excluded.

If you have gotten into the habit of staying up late and sleeping late, your body is going to see this as normal behavior and adjust accordingly.

To reset your internal clock, try one or all of these tips:

• The first few nights that you're trying to go to bed earlier, darken your windows as much as you can. The darker the room, the easier it is to fall asleep, so see about getting some blackout curtains to make sure no light filters through.

• Don't Take Naps - This sounds like torture and oh boy, it can feel like it. But be patient. You are tired, but if you power through it now, you will have plenty of time to sleep later.

Be strict with yourself and don't give in to the temptation of staying up late or sleeping in. Yes, it's difficult to wake up and readjust your body, but it's worth it in the end.

Power through it, friend! It's not going to take one night, but once you are back on track with a regular sleep schedule you will feel so much better.

It is frustrating to get a poor night's sleep and feel exhausted and uncomfortable the next day. Pinpointing the reason why you are not sleeping well can be the first step in helping you to catch some much needed and much deserved Z's.